LETTER: EU Falsehoods

It is disappointing to see both Felicity Dobson and Bernard Pickering repeating common myths about the EU in the Advertiser.

Mr Pickering appears to blame every bugbear he has on the EU - from human rights, which are enshrined in UK law, to our humanitarian aid policy, which is again decided by our government.

Should we vote to ‘leave’ I imagine he’ll be shocked to find that neither will be affected.

Ms Dobson’s claim that small businesses are being destroyed by EU regulation is surprising considering a majority of both small and big businesses want to remain within the EU - one suspects that they would know best whether it is of benefit to them. It might also surprise her that should we leave there is no guarantee that regulations will be slashed; to have free trade with Europe we’d have to conform to their rules (only without a say in devising them) and many rules and regulations would simply be kept on under British law.

Unfortunately the anti-EU camp have for many years been misleading the public with false stories that either blame the EU for things it isn’t responsible for, that it isn’t doing or that would happen anyway. ‘Vote leave’ have continued this approach; lying about the extent of the UK’s contribution to the EU, about Turkey joining and the EU’s impact on almost everything. They’ve even claimed that the EU prevents you buying bananas in bunches of more than two or three - a claim that can easily be disproven by a trip to Morrisons.

The facts of the referendum are this: Every reputable source says that the British economy will be between 0.1 per cent and seven per cent smaller by 2030 if we leave the EU. Immigration will not go down substantially if we leave - a majority of immigrants are not from within the EU. Public services will be negatively affected if we leave; over ten per cent of doctors are EU nationals. Should we leave we would still have to accept EU regulations in order to trade with them and pay into the EU.

Being part of Europe has had a huge benefit to the UK over the past 40 years; we are a stronger, more prosperous and safer country within the EU. It would be foolish to leave on the basis of ‘vote leave’s’ falsehoods and I’m sure the British public will not do so.